HISTORY LESSONThe 28th Annual Roy Griak Invitational, one of the major cross country events in the country, is named after long-time University of Minnesota men’s cross country and track and field coach Roy Griak. He still serves as an administrative assistant for the Gophers following his retirement from coaching. The Tritons last ran at the Griak in 2010, as the men placed fifth out of 28 teams and the women finished in 14th out of 25 teams. Chia Chang, now in her senior season, was the top individual finisher on the women’s side, placing 39th. On the men’s side, Mario Flores, who is also now in his senior year, finished 34th as the top finisher for the Tritons.

Cal State San Bernardino last hosted the Invitational in 2010. The Tritons didn’t participate in the event.

COMPETITIONFrom the Division II ranks on the women’s side, the Griak will feature many top programs. No. 3 Augustana, No. 15 Minnesota Duluth, No. 20 Southwest Baptist and No. 22 Pittsburg State will all be present. On the men’s side, No. 5 Augustana, No. 16 Central Missouri and No. 20 Southwest Baptist will headline the race. Overall, between all the races at the Griak, 4,500 runners and 385 teams are entered to compete.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHTThe UCSD men’s squad is featured in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll. They are currently receiving eight votes in the top 25 poll. In the USTFCCCA regional polls, the men and women are both tabbed at No. 5 in the west division.

TRY AND KEEP UPSophomore Tareq Alwafai was honored as UCSDtritons.com male athlete of the week (Sept. 16) for his efforts at the UC Riverside Invitational. The sophomore timed 24:42.6 to place 10th overall in the men's 8k invitational race, with five Division I runners from Southern Utah and UC Santa Barbara crossing ahead of him. His mark was UCSD's fastest-ever on the UCR course, lowering former Triton distance great James Nielsen's standard. Alwafai, an Aliso Viejo native, guided UCSD to a fifth-place showing out of 23 teams entered. Fellow sophomore Marie Diaz was just as impressive at the UCR Invitational. She was the top finisher for UCSD and finished fourth overall with a time of 18:03.7. The reigning CCAA freshman of the year led the Tritons to a second overall finish. The UC Riverside Invite was also a record-breaking day for the Tritons, as 10 men and 12 women jumped into the top 25 UCSD marks. Most notably, Diaz, Chang, Paige Hughes, Madison Tanner, Ella Verhees and Chandler Colquitt all surpassed the 1992 mark set by Janet Hanna.

UP IN THE AIR UCSD spent 10 days in the Mammoth Lakes region for a high-altitude training camp, returning to La Jolla on Sept. 4. Click here to view a photo gallery from the trip.

HEAD COACH NATE GARCIA Former Triton student-athlete Nate Garcia is in his seventh season as head coach of the UCSD cross country program. He took over the reins in 2007 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach. Garcia was a four-year letterwinner in cross country and track at UCSD from 1996-2000. He earned numerous athletic and academic honors, including All-Academic District VIII and CCAA All-Academic accolades in 2000-01.

GEAR HERE UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.

THE BIG PICTURE We want to reward you for posting your creative photos. Tweet and Instagram your pics from any UCSD Athletics event and include our #TritonsRising hashtag. At the end of every month, we'll pick our favorite photos and dole out some swag to the winners!

UP NEXT The Tritons return home to host the Triton Classic on Saturday, Oct. 12. Two races on the women’s side are scheduled, as the 6k open is slated to begin at 8:20 a.m. followed by the 6k invite at 9:00 a.m. The men’s 8k competition will begin at 9:40 a.m. For more information on the Triton Classic, click here.